Gate



2 Sheets-Sheet l March 28, 1950 G. A. Duls ET AL GATE Filed July 22, 1946 Patented Mar. 28, 1950 PATENT @'FFI'CE GATE' Glenn A; Buis and Kenneth W. Hermann, Streator, Iii., assignors tol Anthony Company, Streator, lll., a corporation of. illinoisv Application July 22, 194.6, SerialNO; 685,391

3,Elaims. 1

This invention relatesV` to a gate for a vehicle body or a bin body.

it has for one object to provide a gatey with its construction so arranged that the gate may be pivoted orswung` from its topV orfrorn its'bottorn atwill.

Another object is to` provide a gatel with itsrneans so arranged that the gate when swung from the bottom will in one-position form a continuous extension of the :door of` the bin or vehicle body.

A still further object is to' provide agate supporting means so arranged that thev gate when in the extreme open position is practically beneath the body.

Another object is toV provide a pivotal support for a lower part of`a gate so arranged that When free to do so the pivot of the gate shifts.

Other objects Awill appear from time to time throughout the course oi the specification and claims.

The inventionA is illustrated more or less diagrammatically in thek accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure l is a side elevation showing` a body or bin with the gate in closed position, and show ing in dot-,and-dash line the gate in horizontal position and showing the gate in. dotted line in the iullopen position;

Figure 2. isan end elevation. showing the gate supportingv means at one side;

Figure 3 is a plan view of the gate supporting meanson one side. of the body or bin; and

Figure 4v is a section taken at line i--d ofy Fig,- ure 1.

Like, parts; are designated*L by like characteristics throughout the speciiication and drawings.

In the particular form here shown, the gate is applied to a body of a truck or vehicle, it might equally be, however, applied to a bin or fixed container. Only so much of the body will be described as is necessary to explain the use and construction of the gate.

The body` may be conveniently mountedv on. a frame which includes longitudinal members i and one or4 more transverse members 2. The body includes side sheet-like members 3' and a bottom sheetflike member ll. The'body isseoured to the frame. in any manner such as welding, riveting, bolting or otherwise. v

At their upper edges the sheets which form the sides ofthebody may be bent overto formthickened stifiening members 5, and at their rear the sheets may be bent about to form a thickened 2 stiiening framedike member 6- which is posi.- tionediadiacent to the opening.

On each side oi the body is positioned a supporting member l which' is provided with a pair of rearwardly directedarms or branches :6. rIlhese branches may be curved' as shown in Figure 2, they are perforated to receive a locking pin' iii-which may be fastened to thevmeinber 'i by a pin orother flexible member iii. Adjacent the bottom oi the body ony each sideis iixed aI pair of pivot members il. These members are preferably perforated tov receive a pin The gate may be formed oi a sheetelle mein bei' iwhich is laterally bent as atY id and down',` wardly'bent as` at i5' to engage the rea-enforcing end members i., A stiiening or re-enforcing member' i-.iimay'formpart ofthe, gate. The exact details ciA the gate are not an essential part of the invention which may be applied to almost any sort of gate;

At' or near the upperedge of the gate on each side is mounted a member i'i provided with a pair of upwardly extending branches i3 between which' pin` it is positioned. The pin ismay;

" as shown in Figures i and 2 particularly, iit between the-members 8.

The pin 9, when in the position shown in Figures l and 2; will` hold the pin it in place betweenthe members 8 to complete thebinge.

A chain im may be fastened at any suitable point onthe body and may be fastened also to the gate to hold it in the horizontal position shown in the dot-and-dash 'line oi Figure l.

At or near4 its lower end the gate is provided on; eachside with a member' 2l which, particu,- larly as shown in Figure 2, is outwardly ared. A; sizilien-ing or reinforcingY portion may be added to or'4 formed integrally with the member Ztl. A pin 213 projects inwardlysfrom the member 2i' and maytbetween the members Il.

Thelocking pin l2, `which is adapted to occupy the position shown in Figures l and 2, may be iastenediby a chain mito the reinforcing mem-ber 2'f2'orto` the member 2li; The pin` l is adapted to be removably seated inlsuitable peroratio-ns in the members il.

It desired, the gate may be provided along its edges with channel members titl These chan-- nel members, particularly .in Figure 4, overlap or embrace theA ends oi the body side plates t or theenlargements i5 onthein and thus serve asl positioning and leak preventing means toprevent'ieaking or discharge ofthe contents oi the body.

Although We have shown an operative form of our invention, it will be recognized that many changes in the form, shape and arrangement of parts can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention, and our showing is therefore to be taken as, in a sense, diagrammatic,

The use and operation of this invention are as follows:

The gate when it is to act merely as a tailgate, for example, for a tipping body will be swung from above and the pin 9 will be in position to hold the pins I9 between the respective members 8 and thus to complete the hinge at the upper end of the body.

When the gate is to be held closed, the pins I2 will be in position between the members ii and will hold the gate fastened by cooperation with the pins 23. If the gate is now to be swung open from above, the pins i2 are withdrawn and the gate may be swung open, the pins 23 moving out of the space dened between the members II. If the gate is to be swung from belowthat is to say, if it is to be hinged from the bottom-the pins 9 are withdrawn from the members 8 and the gate may then hinge about the pins 23.

The chain will be of such length as to hold the gate in the horizontal or dot-and-dash position of Figure l. As the gate swings from the closed or upper position toward the horizontal position, the pins 23 slide downwardly along the upper surface of the lowermost member III until they nt into the inner end of the space dei-ined between the members I i. This movement brings the bottom of the gate ush against the end of the body frame I and the surface of the gate which is then uppermost is substantially on a level with the bottom of the body. Thus if it is desired to shovel or otherwise move material along the bottom of the body, it can be moved continuously and without interruption from the bottom of the body and across and over the surface of the gate, without any spilling between the gate and the bottom of the body.

If the gate is to be lowered to the full lowermost position, the chain 29 is disengaged and the gate is permitted to swing to the dotted line position of Figure 1. In that position the pins 23 still remain in the inner end of the space defined between the members I I and the gate thus swings so that the major portion of the gate is under the body and is forward of a line drawn vertically along the rearmost portion of the body, and thus if the contents oi the body is to be shovelled or otherwise discharged through the open end the gate is out of the way and does not interfere with the discharge and the free fall of material from the body.

The arrangement of the pins 23 and the members I I is such as to provide two points of retention of the pins 23. When the gate is in the vertical closed position, the members I I act merely as retainers for the members 23 and as supports for the locking pins I2. When the gate is released at the top and swung downwardly the pins 23 slide inwardly and downwardly between the members I I until they reach the inner end of the space defined by those members and there the pins 23 nd a pivot point which is substantially forward of the point which they occupy when the gate is held closed or is hinged from the upper edge. This construction therefore permits the use of a gate which may hinge from the top or from the bottom and which when hinged from the bottom shifts automatically so that in the horizontal position it is ush against the body and forms in effect a continuation of the bottom body surface. When in the full lowered position it is largely under the body and out of the way of material falling from the body.

We claim:

1. In combination, members defining a body having an open end, and a gate movably supported therein, hinge members positioned one on said body and one on said gate adjacent the upper end of the gate and including diverging arms on said body, said hinge members comprising rounded parts, and diverging arms adapted to receive said roundedv parts, and latch members adapted removably to hold said rounded parts in place, and additional hinge members positioned adjacent the bottom of said gate and including rounded members on said gate, and inclined arm members on said body adj aoent the bottom of said body, said last-mentioned arm members adapted as the gate moves to serve as bearings for said last-mentioned rounded members.

2. In combination, members dening a body having an open end, and a gate movably supported therein, hinge members positioned one on said body and one on said gate adjacent the upper end of the gate, said hinge members comprising rounded parts, and diverging arms adapted to receive said rounded parts, and latch members adapted removably to hold said rounded parts in place, and additional hinge members positioned adjacent the bottom of said gate and including rounded members on said gate, and inclined arm members on said body adjacent its lower portion, and latch members adapted removably to hold said rounded members between said arm members, said last-mentioned arm members adapted as the gate moves to serve as bearings for said last-mentioned rounded members.

3. In combination, members defining a body having a floor and an open end, a gate supporting structure at said open end, and a gate movably supported therein, hinge members positioned one on said body and one on said gate adjacent the upper end of the gate supporting structure,

and additional hinge members positioned adjacent the bottom of the gate supporting structure, and pins on said gate adapted to be removably engaged in said bottom hinge members, and latching means comprising pins engaging said hinge members and when in position to retain said rstmentioned pins in place, said uppermost hinge members comprising diverging parts and said lower hinge members comprising straight parallel parts.

GLENN A. DUIS.

KENNETH W. HERMANN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the nie of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,093,218 Van Patten Apr. 14, 1914 1,446,083 Avery Feb. 20, 1923 1,517,697 Barrett Dec. 2, 1924 1,635,905 Poth July 12, 1927 1,790,379 Hughes Jan. 27, 1931 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 91,109 Sweden Dec. 21, 1937 

